"Should we remain in Algeria? If you answer "yes," then you must accept all the necessary consequences."Col. Mathieu
☆☆☆☆☆ Masterpiece
The Battle of Algiers (1966) is a poetic masterpiece of cinema.
Directed and co-written by Gillo Pontecorvo.
Starring Jean Martin, Brahim Hadjadj and Yacef Saadi among many others.
Gillo blurred the lines of reality and fiction by making a film that plays like a newsreel or documentary film. What I find interesting in Pontecorvo's style is that depending on your ideology and political bent you view the film as either a propaganda for or against violence as a means to self rule. The film is hard to watch due to the graphic violence, but the atrocities shown are needed to tell the story as it really happened. Ultimately, as Gillo states, its the will of the people that decide the destiny of a nation and not the combatants.
In the scene below I believe every word emanating from Jean. Martin is a man who has fought in wars as both a resistance fighter (WWII, French Resistance) and as a soldier (Indochina), so Jean has an intimate knowledge of both sides of a conflict. Its not often you get an actor that has the kind of background that helps enhance the character. Martin gives one of the most graceful, understated, personal performances I have ever had the pleasure of viewing as an actor.
Trivia - Yacef Saadi plays a character modeled after himself from his own memoirs that were written while he was in prison. Saadi was the head of the FLN in Algeria. Jean Martin was the sole actor in the film and had also served in a paratroop regiment during the Indochina War as well as the French Resistance during WWII.
Note - If you would like to view The Battle of Algiers to rent or buy please click on the link below the comments. It is sponsored by Google, so it is the safest and most secure way to get a copy for your film library.
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